


La Douleur Exquise

by chiptunegalaxy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Eventual Romance, Eventual reveal, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Marichat and DJWiFi Main Focus, Miraculous Holder Alya Césaire, Miraculous Holder Chloé Bourgeois, Miraculous Holder Nino Lahiffe, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-19 06:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11307438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiptunegalaxy/pseuds/chiptunegalaxy
Summary: It seemed like a good idea at the time. University wasn't easy to take on alone, and time to spend together had been growing more and more thin. Marinette had been kept busy between her budding clothing brand and design school. Alya constantly chasing stories in her newspaper internship. Adrien's schedule filled to the brim with photoshoots and lectures. Nino constantly booking gigs to DJ at, and trying to keep up with his classes and part time jobs. There barely seemed enough time to breathe, much less time to maintain a social life.So when Nino suggested the four of them share an apartment together, everyone was quick to agree.Of course, none of them actually realized the others were part of the superhero trope protecting the streets of Paris. And when four friends try to maintain their usual lives while also concealing a superhero identity, things can get complicated.





	1. Peppermint Hot Chocolate

_ Usually, they all kept Adrien in the loop for plans - even if he seemed too busy to keep up with their schedules. Usually, they always made sure to let him know every step, no matter how small. He loved to be included, and they loved to include him. But when Nino approached Marinette and Alya about a potential solution to their worries about the blonde, they ended up hatching a plan that he was none the wiser about.  _

_ And finally - after weeks of planning, researching, and sneaking around - they were ready. _

The smell of coffee and peppermint combined with freshly baked cookies had always been a welcoming feeling on cold Parisian winter days. Even if the café was packed to the brim on Saturday, chatter overpowering the sound of clinking cups and shuffling chairs, looming assignments and projects breathing down her back - Marinette made the point to always show up to a weekly get together with her tightly knit friend group. The break from design school, her online fashion line, and maintaining a secret identity as Paris' own spotted superhero, never could come soon enough. 

Alya had been the first to suggest they all find time for a break. Nino agreed moments later, seeing as they had discussed it before bringing the idea up. Adrien agreed with a growing excitement that Marinette watched build over the five years they had known each other. And of course she couldn't resist spending time with the trio, even if her previous nervousness around Adrien had waned over years of unrequited feelings. It had taken a long time, but Mari could proudly say she valued Adrien more as a friend than potential love interest - even if the shift had stung for a few months spread out over countless pints of empty ice cream and sad movies.

"What if we got a place together?" Nino casually brought up once the conversations about school and updates of their lives began to wane. The idea  _ seemed  _ simple enough. A couple friends working together and trying to make it in the world. It could be fun, exciting, and maybe just a bit complicated. 

Marinette raised a brow towards Nino after he spoke, the peppermint hot chocolate in her hands raised to cover the small beginnings of a smile. Keeping secrets had become commonplace for her, much to her distaste, but her fellow heroes didn't seem to mind much. The hardest part of their plan coming into the open was trying to keep her face straight and surprised as if it were the first time she had heard those words.

She had thought about the same thing before -all of them moving in together - especially since she had wanted to move out of her parent's attic sooner rather than later. But she could never quite work up how to bring the idea to the table. Literally and figuratively. Asking her best friends to deal with her late nights and frantic deadlines had never really seemed fair. Nino approaching with the idea, and finding out that they had been on the same page really made the plan come together much more smoothly.

"You mean like… Rent an apartment together?" Alya set her cappuccino down, an amused look on her face. Ever since she had cut her hair short at the start of the year, her colorful expressions only seemed to shine through even more. 

"All four of us," her hand motioned around the table, making certain even Adrien didn't avoid her obvious inclusion. "Together. Under one roof."

"Yeah. I've been looking places up for about a week now and I found some good potential if you guys wanted to try it out." Nino spoke while reaching down into his backpack to grab his laptop, quickly pulling up a few saved tabs and turning it around to face the others. A bit too casually. "Obviously no pressure or anything like that. Just thought it could be a nice change."

Marinette didn't miss the way Nino's eyes flicked over towards Adrien as the blonde leaned forward to look at the laptop without so much as a word. Even though he had never been the overly loud type, always choosing to stay on the reserved side of interactions - they all knew when he was barely able to keep his footing in the waking world. And it just so happened to be one of those days.

Ever since the four of them had started Uni, the time they could all spend together had gotten considerably shorter. But they had made a point to try and hang out at least once a week - although Adrien ended up having to cancel more often than they were happy to accept. And the plan would make meeting easier.

Between the physics major, teacher assistant duties, constant photoshoots, and tutoring, Adrien barely had time to even so much as breathe - let alone actually function like a human being. He needed a break, but it never seemed to happen.

Mari was worried. They all were. Adrien didn't seem to be eating properly or getting much sleep. Even when he came from a photoshoot, there seemed to be the faint ghosting of dark circles under his eyes that makeup couldn't cover enough. And if they lived together, then it would be a good time to put 'Project Protect Adrien Agreste' into motion. Even if they had been trying to do so for years - he never had to know.

"I think it's a good idea." Marinette said a bit more quickly than she would have liked, a silent curse towards her eagerness to be addressed later. A nervous laugh escaped her painted pink lips,  "I mean… I've been wanting to move out for a couple years now. Maman has been urging me to 'stretch my wings'" Mari paused just long enough to give air quotes, "For some time now. And I  _ am  _ making enough money between my store and helping at the bakery to afford partial rent." 

Alya raised a brow, a knowing grin growing on her face as she pushed her way forward and wrapped an arm around Adrien. Her eyes darted towards Nino to communicate a silent word, and he jumped to the other side of the blonde without hesitation. He pointed at the current apartment Adrien had been looking at, the grin on his face only growing wider. If they were trying to be subtle about this being a 'secret plan', it wasn't working at all.

"Yeah see, I looked to make sure all of them had at least three bedrooms, two baths. A kitchen. The works. Alya and I could share a room, then you and Mari could take the pick of what's left." Nino clicked to another photo, this one showing a kitchen shot. "Plus we can get you a mini fridge to keep all your nasty cheese in. Really don't get why you like it so much, dude."

"It's... " Adrien gapped for a moment, brow furrowing before he laughed. His hand went to rub the bridge of his nose and moved to swipe over the dark circles under his eyes. "Sometimes you just need to indulge in a bit of camembert. Nothing special."

"Was weird five years ago, is still weird now." Alya chimed in before giving his hair a rough ruffle and making it into a mess. "Will be weird in five more years."

"And me carrying cookies around everywhere isn't weird?" Mari said as a hand dipping into her bag and pulling out a small container of chocolate chip cookies. In an instant Alya had grabbed the container and pulled a cookie out before sliding the container back.

"You're excused because cookies are always a good thing to have. Especially when it's your dad's recipe." 

"And you know I'd make them in our new place, along with other tasty sweets - right?"

"If I weren't dating Nino I'd have stolen you away years ago just for these cookies." Alya winked and took a bite of the cookie, almost instantly having her expression melt to one of bliss as she moved back to her seat and threw an arm around Mari.

"Thanks, babe. Glad to know I win out over the cookies." Nino didn't even look up from his laptop while moving through other tabs and pointing out different features each place had to offer. 

"It could be fun." Adrien finally spoke, his voice guarded to try and disguise the exhaustion. A moment later he cleared his throat to get rid of any signs he might have been tired and straightened his back to match the smile he shot towards all of them. "I do miss being able to spend time together. I just wonder what my father--" 

He couldn't even finish before two fingers stopped him from talking.

"Nope, no. None of that here. This is Adrien hour." Alya stared hard, never breaking eye contact as she pulled her hand back - only to put it right back when he tried to say 'but'. He gave a slight huff at being silenced again, some of the light coming back into his green eyes as he fought a laugh.

"She has a point, dude. This isn't about your dad, it's about you. You know all of us love you. And your weird habits won't weird us out. Even the ladybug undies." 

"Nino! You swore you wouldn't say anything about those!" Adrien reeled back away from Alya's fingers, cheeks growing pink from his sudden secret reveal. "It's not what you think, I was a teenager it's not… Nino, you swore!" 

Mari and Alya looked at each other for a brief moment before bursting into laughter, much to Adrien's chagrin. He groaned as Alya made obvious motion to hide her mouth and whisper something into her best friend's ear. Another round of laughter echoed from the girls 

Adrien dragged a hand down his face in mortification.

"I can't believe you betrayed me like this, Nino. After everything we've been through. After I persuaded you to not ask Alya out over the loudspeaker at a concert. After all the birthdays I've let you plan. After I provided tissues when you cried over that polar bear documentary."

"They were just trying so hard…" Nino's voice fell, the mock sound of sadness building in the back of his throat.

"Anyway, I'll think about it. Talk details with Nino and go over what all we might need." He paused. "If we do this. It's a pretty big commitment."

"But think about it, Adrien. Mari cookies every night and buttery croissants every morning." Alya had picked her drink back up, a small crest of foam on her upper lip. None of them missed the way Adrien seemed to perk up at the promise of croissants, even if he tried to hide it.

"Speaking of though… Do you think your parents can hook me up with a cake soon?" Nino shifted the subject, pointing at one last place for Adrien to go over as he stood up. "Mom's birthday is coming up soon and I wanted to do something special for her big day. I've got a couple ideas but I'm not exactly a baker."

Their conversation tapered off the discussion of moving in together, moving towards other plans. Adrien seemed grateful to have the topic shift, but even so he didn't say much for the rest of the day. Mari and Alya both noticed how deep in thought he seemed to be, and even after they all parted ways Mari couldn't shake the strange feeling that had settled into her stomach. Fear? Anticipation? Excitement? 

Even discussing everything with Tikki didn't really help, and the next few days went by without much incident save for the rush of final projects and the move into winter break. Luckily there hadn't even been much need to patrol Paris, so focusing on life slowly turning hadn't been difficult. A small part of her did miss the freedom - and maybe her partner - but sewing last minute garments did well to crush those thoughts. 

A quick meeting for early dinner (and a couple glasses of wine, if she was being honest) with Alya had the last of daylight withering away into the beautiful Parian twilight. Streetlights flickered on as Marinette gave Alya a tight hug before heading back towards her parents house, the warmth of mulled wine filling her stomach and keeping her cheeks warm against the biting winter air. 

Two weeks had passed since their last meeting with Adrien, and she had to admit a few of those drinks had been for their plan falling through. Both Alya and herself had sighed and accepted their plan didn't work. A sad fact, but nothing they could force Adrien to agree to.

At least, that's what the two of them had thought. When a sudden vibration caught her attention, Mari didn't much pay mind to her phone. Even so, she pulled it from her bag and turned on the screen. Her feet stopped, mouth slightly agape.

She started to run.

The smile on her face couldn't have grown any wider even if she had wanted it to. No doubt people must have been staring as she gained speed, a laugh of victory pulling itself from her throat as she jumped off the ground in excitement, fist pumping high in the air. In the moment of bliss she had forgotten to control her own strength and went much higher than she meant, nearly hitting her head on a nearby hanging sign before she landed heavy on one foot and continuing on her way.

It only took another few minutes before Marinette stepped through her parent's bakery door, a soft bell jingle letting them know she had finally arrived. Quick exchanges of welcome homes echoed through the family before she ran upstairs and dropped her things off. In all the excitement she hadn't gotten much of a chance to talk to Tikki, so she left the photo unlocked for her to look over. 

"It's going to be so amazing, Tikki." Mari planted a soft kiss on the Kwami's forehead, the giggles having hardly died down before she made her way back towards the bottom floor to help with nightly bakery prep. Even with the alcohol in her system, her hands were quick enough to keep everything steady.

"Maman, I have the best news." She called in excitement while grabbing an apron and tying it on, hardly missing a step as she twirled out of the way to avoid her father carrying a tray of dough that needed to rise. "And I'm going to need your help this weekend, if you're able."

Upstairs, Tikki could hear the excited gasps and words exchanged, and even the booming voice of Tom breaking through from the kitchen. A small giggle left the tiny red kwami as she scrolled over the group chat Mari had left open. And at the very bottom, marked read by all, was a single new photo received barely an ten minutes ago.

A photo of Nino and Adrien wrapped arm in arm. And in their hands was the new lease agreement with four names scribbled on the lines. Under the photo was a caption that read 'Move in next week'.

Project Protect Adrien Agreste was officially a go.

Almost an hour had passed since Mari made her way back home, another three glasses of wine slipped between her lips while she spoke in excitement to her parents about the new plans. By the time she had gotten back up to her bedroom, she could feel the shake in her legs and the warmth spreading through her entire body. She spun in happiness, humming all the while. 

Tikki had already settled down to sleep, and as quickly as a drunk Mari could - she pushed her way through the trapdoor and onto the balcony. Somehow she managed to drag a blanket with her through the door before pulling it over her shoulders and once again giving a small spin of excitement.

"Next week!" She cried to the silent and cold streets of a winter Paris, her laugh echoing through the alleyways. She spun a few more times, the dizziness overtaking her much faster than she expected. Giggles erupted from her as ran both hands through her hair, eyes closed in excitement as she started to hum once again. 

A content sigh and her eyes opened, only to find something bright green and glowing staring back at her. 

Marinette screamed in surprise, the blanket finding its way under her foot when she backed up. Her arms flailed and she fell backwards, eyes closed and ready to feel the impact. Instead a strong arm had found its way to the small of her back, a knee between her legs, and a face much closer to hers than she would have liked. Blonde hair brushed against her face, bright green eyes meeting her own, and full lips pulled back into a smirk that had half of Paris swooning. 

"It's been awhile, Purrincess. Miss me?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boyohboyohboy o h b o y. first LB fic im posting. Main focus will be marichat, it's kinda my guilty pleasure aha. Kids have been aged up and are around 20/21!  
> Rating/Warnings might change depending on how things go, I'm not sure yet. Stay tuned.   
> Not beta'd! Forgive me if there's typos or anything awkward. I should have a beta for the next chapter on aha.
> 
> Oh, and a small note about the title! Because I'm cheesy and I'm a sucker for pining and slow burn fics.  
> [ "La douleur exquise" - Only the French could come up with such an eloquent expression for the pain of unrequited love. La douleur exquise, “the exquisite pain” perfectly describes the heartache of wanting someone you can’t have. ]


	2. Iced Lemon Water

Popularity could easily be denied. But that didn't mean it should be. 

For years, Chat tried to deny how many fans he had built up, instead focusing on trying to capture his Lady's attention. Staying humble worked for quite some time - at least until the pain of constant rejection finally started to sting more than he cared to think about. He kept up the 'playboy' persona, earned eye rolls from Ladybug, Queen Bee, and Vixen alike. Although, Vixen seemed more receptive to the flirtations, even when they both knew it had been nothing but hollow banter. 

It took four years of hopeless pining, three new miraculous holders, two years in uni, and one lease signature to finally snap him out of the mindset of needing to impress others and instead live for himself. And part of that meant accepting Ladybug would never feel the same, that friendships meant more than the strained family relationship with a father who barely seemed to care for his wellbeing, and using an alter ego to enjoy the attention he so craved wasn't a bad or shameful thing to do.

As to why he decided to use that newfound mental freedom to visit Marinette for the first time in two months - well, he didn't need a reason to go visit a friend he cared for. And doing so as Chat Noir wasn't something she would be suspicious of. After all, they were friends. Both in and out of the mask.

Over the years, he had gotten closer to Marinette as Chat. At times he almost felt like he had been using her as relief from the busyness that had taken over almost every moment of his waking life, but the more she vented about her frustrations with Adrien skipping out on their weekly meetings and how she was worried about him - Adrien, not Chat. Which got rightly confusing after awhile when he didn't want to let any details slip - The more he wanted to visit her and just spend nights nearby. 

It became such a common occurrence, they had agreed to set a date at least once a month to enjoy a warm drink together on her rooftop to just talk about life and see how the other had been doing. Sometimes, one day wasn't enough and Chat simply wanted to enjoy company where he didn't feel the need to put up airs or to act prim and proper like his father had taught him. Even if he wasn't a child any longer, there were some things that just couldn't go away at the snap of his fingers.

Over the past two weeks, he had found himself sitting on her balcony well past two a.m. almost nightly. Watching her work, watching her sleep, watching the darkened room - just  _ trying  _ to think about everything their friends had said about moving in together. Even with his own deadlines and schedule, he kept crawling back to her window like some stray cat hoping to be fed and given a chin scratch or two. 

Mari had mentioned how busy she would be and they agreed to put off their usual meeting time, but he just couldn't keep away. Not after they all agreed living together could be fun. Not after he decided to swallow the lump in his throat and leap into the unknown - and most certainly not after he saw a beautiful girl yell in excitement into the cold night while spinning in delight.

He thought it would be a normal night, one filled with enthusiasm as Mari told him all about what had made her so excited and a ball of giggles. Filled with words about what had made her freckled cheeks flushed from the breath she lost yelling into the Parisian night sky, the puff of breath from the cold twisting into her dark hair. 

What he didn't expect was to end up with his arm around her waist, the redness of her cheeks obvious even in the darkness as he purred out her nickname, or the chill that ran down his spine as she let out a warm breath against his neck. 

_ 'Focus, Agreste.' _

"Chat… What are you doing here?" Marinette looked up at him, her heart beating faster than before. Nearly falling had that effect, after all. 

"Making you fall for me." He gave a smooth smile and helped to right her footing, being careful to keep his hands out just in case she stumbled. Even if he didn't say anything, he hadn't missed the scent of wine on her breath or the even worse lack of coordination than she usually displayed. The drawn out groan in reply to his casual flirtation made him laugh, the sound bright and clear. 

"I was on patrol and heard a yell." A lie, yet it slipped past his lips without a moment of hesitation. Lies had become so easy over the years. But Mari didn't need to know he had been watching from an adjacent rooftop.  "And seeing as I'm the handsome purr-tector of our fair city, I thought to myself… A beautiful young woman yelling late at night? That spells danger. So I rushed over just in time to save the day. Imagine my surprise when I realized the beauty I had saved was none other than my purrincess herself?" 

"Three purrs in a row? I think you're losing your touch, kitty." Marinette scoffed. Two fingers connecting with the hero's forehead to push him away and hopefully gain a bit of distance. In her drunken state all she really ended up doing was holding her fingers against him and somehow making a mess of his already tousled bangs. "I expected better."

"You wound me. It's been a very long week, and I think a certain someone needs to sleep off her night."

"No, no no no. Can't sleep. Too excited." Mari paused for a moment before gasping and grabbing hold of Chat's cheeks. She squished them together, made his lips pucker, and then dropped her hands and started to tug him towards on of the two chairs. "Since you're here, sit. Sit sit sit. I have great news that you need to hear."

She gestured for him to sit, not stopping until he had firmly planted his rear into the chair next to her own. His smirk had melted into a smile of excitement that matched hers. Strange as it might have been to hear news he already knew, watching Mari let loose really made his nights better. There was just something about how she relaxed around Chat that made the lack of sleep worthwhile. 

"Nice to hear it's good news that has you yelling at nearly one a.m. But tell me princess. I've missed listening to you." 

"So you remember Adrien, right?" Mari began, wrapping the blanket around herself - only to stop and realize Chat must have been cold. "Well, you know how I'm always worried about him and if he's sleeping, or eating, or actually relaxing? Nino and Alya are the same, we all worry about him. But see, we came up with this plan. Nino called it 'Project Protect Adrien Agreste' which is pretty silly, but the name stuck and here we are!"

"Project..." Chat had to stop himself from pressing for information on what exactly she meant. His covered his mouth to shield the expression on his face, mind reeling on what that could have mean. His friends had been planning this for how long exactly? His brow furrowed, not knowing if he should feel flattered how far they would go for him or happy they cared so much. Both. Both seemed like the best choice.

While she spoke, Mari had adjusted her chair to face him, the blanket tossed over his shoulders best she could with their position. It fell off, but he didn't seem to much mind. Chat only laughed and leaned closer, ready to listen to her story. She couldn't help but grin at how attentive he seemed.

"We all met up like usual - thankfully he could even come this time, we always miss him when he can't make it. Anyway, Nino tried to be all casual and ask about us living together, and we all piled on him and buttered him up with tons of places we had been looking at for over a month. Moving out is always hard, and Adrien thinks about what his dad might think a lot. But Alya wasn't hearing it. I nearly blew our cover when she covered his mouth to shush him."

"From the few times I've met her over the years she's certainly strong willed." Chat said with a laugh. He really didn't expect Alya to physically shush him, but it happened and he had a feeling their future living arrangements would be interesting - to say the least.

"There was even an offer of warm breakfast croissants courtesy of yours truly." Mari tapped her chest and looked proud at the mention of baked good before the hand went up and pulled her long hair forward and over a shoulder. "He likes them almost as much as you do, and that's saying a lot. I still remember when you came over like a stray cat years ago for a snack after patrols."

"I'm jealous. Your family makes the best croissants in all of Paris." 

"Now you're just trying to get a few out of me, aren't you?"

Chat grinned. "Maybe."

Marinette covered her mouth and laughed, free hand going to poke Chat on the nose. "Next time, kitty cat."

"It's a date."

"Uh huh." Mari snorted, brow furrowing. "Where was I? Oh! Right, right. I remember now. So two weeks pass after the meeting, and we're sure that Adrien declined the offer. Me and Alya, not Nino. The rest of us had already signed the lease, just in case, for the place we agreed on. Nino told us Adrien liked it the best too, and it's in a really nice area. There's a park nearby and everything. Plus it's pet friendly, so you're welcome to visit."

"Is that an invitation?" Chat grinned, entirely taken in by the flush of Mari's cheeks are she grew in excitement and her words started to blend together with how quickly she tried to explain the situation he just so happened to be part of. He noticed that Marinette liked to talk with her hands at times, and it was certainly one of those times. She had been gesturing widely the entire story - to herself, to Chat, to the entirety of Paris. It was such an endearing thing Chat missed in their time apart that he instantly felt at home. Hanging out with Mari as Adrien had always been fun, especially since she had relaxed considerably, but it didn't compare to how she acted when he was Chat. No need for airs, no need to impress him. 

"If you can find me you're welcome to visit. But it's a secret until then." 

"I accept the challenge, princess." Chat said with a grin that reflected Mari's own before she shook her head and tried to get back on track. Chat was awful at distracting her. 

"So right, Alya and I got dinner and drinks to mourn the project falling through. And I  _ might  _ have had a few drinks."

"Might."

"Shhh. We were sad and needed to drink away the sorrow. This was a plan we had been working on for about two months, so it was important to all of us. Then on my way home Nino sent me…" With a small wiggle she fished into her pajama bottoms and pulled her cell phone out. It took a few tries to unlock her screen, but once she did the screen was shoved into Chat's face. "This!"

He reeled back, the bright screen blinding. His hands took the phone from her just as another choir of giggle erupted. Chat couldn't stop the grin from growing at her reaction to something so simple as a photo of himself and Nino holding their new lease. It was almost as if she had been excited.

Without thinking, Chat started to scroll through the group chat after looking at the photo, taking note of the group name 'PPAA' and who all happened to be there - Alya, Nino, and Marinette. Everything there was just plans about how to get him to agree, what type of place he might like, the best way to break the news. His heart filled to near bursting with appreciation he never knew could possibly be so real.

He had friends. 

No. 

He had a makeshift family he wouldn't trade for the world. 

And somehow that made his chest hurt. His throat clenched, grip tightened on the phone, and a wide earnest smile spread across his face as he passed over a message from Marinette that read 'willing to make matching pajamas for everyone'.

In that moment he realized just how much he really meant to all of them.

"You guys really care about him, don't you?" Chat's voice dropped from the usual flirty tone, instead taking on a timber that had Mari stop for a moment in her drunken state and stare. He looked up and gave a lopsided grin, expression vulnerable even under the mask. She couldn't have even begun to guess what made him look so exposed. 

"Of course we do. He's one of my best friends and all of us want to see him happy. Even if he's always busy or has to cancel, we're so excited to get to see him. Adrien is amazing, he just doesn't realize it. Hopefully one day he'll see just how great he is, but until then we're all going to support him in whatever he might want to do. Even if that means waking up at five a.m. every morning to make him fresh croissants for the day, or sewing Ladybug pajamas late into the night. Adrien is worth it. He's amazing."

"You're amazing." The words slipped from his lips so softly, he wasn't even sure if he actually said it outloud or not. 

The words passed over her head without so much as a second thought while she took his gloved hands and gave them a solid squeeze. Subconsciously, her thumbs began to trace circles onto the fabric, the smooth feeling of his miraculous a strange contrast, but not entirely unwelcome. 

As Ladybug, she couldn't take the time to touch Chat casually. Or really, she had chosen not to. Drawing a firm line between them had been something she decided on and stuck with since they had first gotten their miraculous. Professional friendship, and friendly distance. It kept things easier and helped her focus on taking down akuma or protecting Paris without the worry of any sort of fallout between them should feelings be involved. And once the other three had burst onto the scene, any sort of potential thoughts towards Chat had been dashed away. Not to mention she had Adrien. Or wanted to have him. Had given up on having him… Feelings were complicated. Sometimes she wondered if she had actually gotten over her feelings for him.

Silence stretched between them, both content to simply sit there in the others company hand in hand. Marinette looked up through her eyelashes and caught Chat's eyes, a smile spreading across her face.

"I've missed you, Chaton."

"I've missed you too, Marinette."

"I'm moving next week. Honestly… I'm pretty nervous."

"I'm sure you'll do amazing. You've got a lot of support, after all."

"You'll come visit still," Mari looked down at their hands, eyelids heavy as the alcohol began to catch up with her after all of the excitement.  "Won't you?"

"Of course, princess. I wouldn't miss our nights. I always look forward to it. Maybe we can even meet more often once you've settled in."

"I'd like that a lot, actually. We'll just have to figure out how to sneak you past Alya. She's sometimes too good of a journalist. Surprised she hasn't figured out you and I have been meeting like this for years. Or maybe she has and just didn't said anything." 

"I doubt she'll mind you feeding a single stray cat on occasion." Chat reached out and brushed a lock of dark hair behind Marinette's ear, a content sigh coming from her as she leaned into his hand. "For now, let's get you to bed."

"Not tired." Mari weakly protested, but she didn't fight as Chat stood up and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. She didn't fight as he helped her up and swept her off her feet princess style, or while her arms unconsciously wrapped around his neck and she snuggled into his neck. 

He smelled of fresh lemons, refreshing and happy. 

Chat carefully lept down into her bedroom, the landing soft and soundless even with Mari in his arms. The only sounds to fill the quiet of nighttime was the rustle of blankets while he tucked her. Mari let out a content sigh and turned on her side, barely able to make Chat in the darkness.

"Sleep well, princess." His voice barely above a whisper, once more reaching out to brush a strand of hair away from her face. Slowly, he leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. His lips lingered, taking the chance to breathe in and catch the faint scent of strawberries on her hair. Soft, sweet, and perfectly Marinette. He couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips.

Then, Chat froze. and pulled back, panic and confusion filled his mind. Why had he done that? He hadn't meant to do that. Without another word, he darted off and jumped back onto the balcony, shutting the trapdoor behind him. 

"Chaton?" The sound echoed in her empty room. A hand rose to her temple and stayed there, the warmth of Chat's breath still clinging to her hair.

Marinette's eyes fought to stay open as they settled onto the glass of water on her side table, a slice of lemon bobbing against the slivers of melted ice. A drink she had long forgotten about before she went onto the balcony. The condensation dripped and made a ring on the wood, and she felt herself slipping deeper into sleep as she watched it slowly drip down the side.

She dreamed of croissant loving black cats and iced lemon water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heckyeah 3am posted chapter twice in a row.  
> no beta again, sorry about that! When I have free time i'll go back and fix typos or issues. 
> 
> thank you all for reading, it really means a lot! this chapter went a very different direction than i expected, but isn't that half the fun?


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